The present invention pertains to an ophthalmoscope. More particularly, the invention pertains to an ophthalmoscope attachment.
Ophthalmoscopes are used by medical personnel to examine the inside of an eye. A standard ophthalmoscope includes a handle, a neck and a housing. The neck extends from the handle at one end and connects to the housing at an opposite end. The handle contains a battery, which is generally rechargeable, to power the ophthalmoscope. The housing contains a lens selection disc and an eyepiece. The lens selection disc alters the lens aligned with the eyepiece which is used to examine the eye. Ophthalmoscopes also include a light source for illumination. A deflecting prism or a perforated angled mirror allows illumination and viewing through the eyepiece of the entire area of the retina, the head of the optic nerve, the retinal arteries and veins, and the vitreous humor.
To properly conduct an eye examination, the patient is instructed to look directly into the light that is emitted from a front of the housing through the eyepiece of the ophthalmoscope. However, young children are typically afraid of the ophthalmoscope and will not look directly at the light or eyepiece. Even if a child cooperates and looks directly at the light, this lasts generally only for a moment or two before the child's attention and line of sight are directed elsewhere. As a result, conducting a thorough examination of a child's eye is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Children's adverse reaction to the ophthalmoscope is generally a result of their fear and anxiety of the unknown and unfamiliar medical instrument. The appearance of a standard ophthalmoscope is cold and uninviting to a young child. The handle of a standard ophthalmoscope is generally stainless steel and silver in color, while the housing that includes the eyepiece is generally formed of hard plastic and is black in color. The shaft placed between the handle and the housing can be made of either stainless steel or formed hard plastic and is either silver or black, respectively, in color. The standard ophthalmoscope used during medical examinations thus tends to only increase an already fearful and anxious experience for a child.